Texas Missed Welfare Goals
But Will Also Miss Huge Fine

The stick in the U.S. government's carrot-and-stick approach to welfare reform is about to be replaced by a twig, which is good news for Texas.

Last spring, when state lawmakers were deciding how to allocate nearly $500 million in federal welfare-reform block grants, a threat loomed over Austin: Unless 25% of all Texas welfare families and 75% of two-parent welfare families were participating in work-related programs by October, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services would fine the state $25 million.